NJ Prison Inmate Was Sexually Abused 40 Times, Lawsuit Says

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — An inmate at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, a maximum-security prison for male sex offenders in Avenel, is suing the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

He says a woman who worked in the prison had an ongoing sexual relationship with him.

To protect his privacy, the inmate was only identified as H.L. in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Middlesex County Superior Court. His lawyer is Ernesto Cerimele, of Morristown-based Klingeman Cerimele law firm.

The woman is Chauntae Williams; she was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Attempts to reach her for this story were not returned.

Williams was not a prison guard; she worked in a supervisory capacity in the prison kitchen, where the inmate was assigned to a work detail, said Cerimele. According to the lawsuit, the man and woman had approximately 40 sexual encounters in the months of April and May 2021. The alleged sexual encounters took place in the prison kitchen.

That same month, Williams was charged by the Middlesex County Prosecutor with criminal sexual contact and sex assault for the incident. Her criminal case has not been resolved, according to Cerimele.

"Chaunte Williams is no longer employed by the New Jersey Department of Corrections," said Amy Quinn, a spokeswoman for the DOC. "We do not comment on pending litigation."

This latest lawsuit comes amidst the ongoing problem in New Jersey prisons of guards/prison employees having sex with inmates: In 2021, New Jersey reached a historic $21 million settlement that was meant to resolve years of sex abuse between guards and inmates at the state's women's prison, Edna Mahan.

In that case, it was male guards who had sexual relations with female inmates.

Cerimele argues that the relationship between his client and woman was also sex abuse, as the inmate could not refuse her advances due to the fact that he is a prisoner, and she was in a supervisory position over him, similar to statutory rape.

“Sexual contact of any kind by an officer or employee at a detention center is nonconsensual and unlawful. Unfortunately, this has become a far too common occurrence at facilities within the state," he said this week.

H.L., 29, has been incarcerated at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center since 2021; he still has two to three years remaining in his sentence. His lawyer declined to say what he was sentenced for, for fear it would disclose his identity.

The Avenel prison is one of the most secure prisons in the state, as it houses men convicted of the most serious sex crimes under the law. Approximately 700 adult men are currently housed there, all of whom have violent or repetitive sex offender status. Many have been deemed to have a high likelihood to re-commit sex crimes upon their release.

However, the ADTC has a strong emphasis on rehabilitation, with intense "cognitive–behavioral treatment and relapse prevention to repetitive, compulsive sex offenders," according to this profile on the Avenel prison from the U.S. Justice Department.

That's why Cerimele said it was particularly egregious that a prison staffer allegedly started a sexual affair with the inmate.

"The Dept. of Corrections and (the Avenel prison) are charged by law with safeguarding the rights of a vulnerable population — sex offenders in need of treatment," he wrote. Williams "at all relevant times had supervisory power" over the inmate.

"When (he) attempted to end the abuse, Williams threatened (him)," alleged his lawyer.

H.L. did eventually did tell a prison guard about the sexual encounters, said his lawyer. The sexual encounters stopped after H.L. requested to be transferred to another unit.

Bruce Davis, administrator at the Avenel prison, was sued as well.

"The NJ Dept. of Corrections and (the Avenel prison) were aware of a longstanding culture of sexual abuse of detainees by NJDOC employees," said the lawyer. "Corrections officers and other civilian employees regularly mistreated detainees in the form of verbal and physical abuse and did so without repercussions."

The inmate is seeking monetary damages from the state and to have his legal fees reimbursed.